AWMC Seminar Program: Shuhong Gao

There is great potential to use free nitrous acid (FNA), the protonated form of nitrite (HNO2), as an antimicrobial agent due to its bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects on a range of microbes. However, the antimicrobial mechanisms of FNA are largely unknown. In this thesis, the antimicrobial effects of FNA on two model microbes in wastewater treatment, namely Psuedomonas aeruginosa PAO1 and Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough, were uncovered in terms of microbial susceptibility, tolerance and resistance to FNA exposure by detecting substrates consumptions, genome-wide transcriptome/proteome responses, coupled with a suite of physiological measurements. The outcomes of this thesis advance our understanding of P. aeruginosa PAO1 and D. vulgaris Hildenborough in response to FNA, and contribute towards the potential application of this environmentally sustainable antimicrobial agent for improving wastewater treatment technologies, such as sewer corrosion control and odor elimination.